Lavender Meringues

Perfect as a summer dessert or for afternoon tea with loved ones.

Lavender Meringues

Ingredients

  • 115g Caster Sugar
  • 115g Icing Sugar
  • 4 Large Eggs, yolks removed
  • 1 TSP of Purple food colouring
  • Half a handful of Lavender buds/flowers
  • Double cream (for the filling)

Pre-heat the oven to – fan 100C, conventional 110C and gas mark 1⁄4. Tip all of the egg whites into a clean cool bowl. Whisk the eggs on a medium setting until they are soft and fluffy. They should form a soft peak. Continue to whisk at a faster setting, whilst slowly adding the caster sugar a tbsp at a time and all of the food dye. Be careful to not over whisk as it can lose volume. Once all of the sugar and food dye has been added the eggs should look soft, thick and sticky like marshmallow..yum! Sift in the icing sugar a 1/3 at a time and tip in half of the lavender. Stir gently with a large metal/rubber spoon. Once all of the icing sugar as been mixed in it should look like shiny velvety goodness! Either pipe or dollop onto a lined baking tray. For desserts make the meringues bigger. For afternoon tea bite size meringues make them as large as a £2 coin. Don’t forget that they expand in the oven!! To finish, sprinkle a few lavender buds onto the meringues. Bake in the oven for around an hour and a half until crisp. Leave to cool then sandwich together with softly whipped double cream.

Of course with any recipe, if you are using any fresh produce from your garden avoid consuming if you have used any chemicals i.e. insect repellent.

Lavender Meringues

 

Lavender Shortbread

Lavender is one of my most favourite things ever! If you grow lavender in your garden every year and harvest it, this recipe is perfect for you. Here is a simple little recipe to make with just a small handful of lavender. The Smell of baking biscuits with lavender is sure to make everyone’s tummy rumble.

Ingredients

Delicious!

Delicious!

125g of Butter

55g of Caster Sugar (plus extra for coating)

180g Plain Flour (plus a little extra for dusting)

2 heaped tbsp of Dried Lavender (untreated)

Pre heat the oven to 180c/Gas mark 4. Beat the butter and the sugar in a bowl till smooth. Sift the flour into the bowl and stir until it forms into a dough. Kneed the dough on a flour dusted surface for a minute. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes. Once the dough has chilled for 30 minutes  roll out on a flour dusted surface. Roll to a 5mm thickness. Cut into the shapes of your choice. Place on a lined baking and bake for roughly 15 mins till they are a light golden brown. When they are out of the oven and cooled a little, coat with the extra caster sugar. Enjoy!

Lavender

Tip: Don’t use lavender from your garden that has been treated with any pest/weed killer!

For tips on growing Lavender visit: Royal Horticultural Society – Lavender